Former-journalist Whitman peppers this poem with the people around him. Their activities in Song of Myself's scenes, stories and vignettes provide a window into the United States just before the Civil War.
Historical Events
By exploring them we can improve our understanding of the poem and also of a critical period in American history.
Here are a few examples:
Choose one of these or find another vignette or story and research the historical meaning of its details. Here's an approach you might use for the Runaway Slave vignette.
Celebrating Diversity
Some sections of Song of Myself are composed almost entirely of lists of people, animals, places or regions, all identifiable by some small, but telling, attribute or characteristic. Examine one of these passages for what it can tell you about the United States in 1855.
Here are some locations and types of lists:
Some lists are huge but some, like the list of outcast types, are small but have much to say about the society in which Whitman wrote.
Look carefully and find a list that appeals to you. Research who or what Whitman describes and elaborate on what you think Whitman's purpose was in listing who or what he includes and what judgments, meaning or import (if any) emerges from this method of description.
Critical Questions on Whitman's America
Former-journalist Whitman peppers this poem with the people around him. Their activities in Song of Myself's scenes, stories and vignettes provide a window into the United States just before the Civil War.
Historical Events
By exploring them we can improve our understanding of the poem and also of a critical period in American history.Here are a few examples:
Choose one of these or find another vignette or story and research the historical meaning of its details. Here's an approach you might use for the Runaway Slave vignette.
Celebrating Diversity
Some sections of Song of Myself are composed almost entirely of lists of people, animals, places or regions, all identifiable by some small, but telling, attribute or characteristic. Examine one of these passages for what it can tell you about the United States in 1855.Here are some locations and types of lists:
Some lists are huge but some, like the list of outcast types, are small but have much to say about the society in which Whitman wrote.
Look carefully and find a list that appeals to you. Research who or what Whitman describes and elaborate on what you think Whitman's purpose was in listing who or what he includes and what judgments, meaning or import (if any) emerges from this method of description.
Create your own contemporary list of the same sorts of people, places or objects as the list you have researched.
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